Shloka 22
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
वहाँ यत्र-तत्र बहुत-से मुर्दे बिखरे पड़े थे, उनमेंसे किसीके शरीरसे रुधिर और मेद बहते थे, किसीके बाहु, ऊरु, पेट और हाथ-पैर कट गये थे ।।
sa tat-kuṇapa-durgandham aśivaṁ lomaharṣaṇam | jagāma rājā dharmātmā madhye bahu vicintayan ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: Raja yang berpegang pada dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira, terus mara melalui jalan itu juga—berbau busuk bangkai yang mereput, penuh alamat buruk dan menggetarkan bulu roma—sambil memutar-balikkan banyak fikiran di dalam hati. Pemandangan itu ngeri dan tidak membawa tuah, namun baginda tetap melangkah, dibebani renungan etika dalam diri di tengah sisa-sisa keganasan.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a dharmic person must confront the consequences of violence without denial: the king proceeds through an inauspicious, horrifying scene while reflecting deeply, suggesting that ethical life includes sober reckoning with suffering and the moral weight of actions.
As narrated by Vaiśaṃpāyana, King Yudhiṣṭhira continues along a path filled with the stench and horror of decaying corpses; despite the terrifying, ill-omened surroundings, he moves forward while absorbed in anxious contemplation.